Charlotte, NC - September 18, 2016: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) walks off the field at Bank of America Stadium with his fist up in the air after their game against the Panthers.(Gerry Melendez for ESPN)

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’” said President Donald Trump on Friday, September 22, in his latest rant against somebody on something.

Trump was speaking at a rally in Alabama in support of Republican Senator Luther Strange. As usual, he veered into other topics including subjects having nothing to do with policy issues impacting millions of people such as health care.

“You know, some owner is going to do that. He’s going to say, ‘That guy that disrespects our flag, he’s fired.’ And that owner, they don’t know it [but] they’ll be the most popular person in this country,” Trump continued attempting to link the situation to disrespecting the flag and avoiding the issue of police misconduct.

What happened next was predictable. Last year after former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick began to sit silently on the bench during the playing of the national anthem as a silent protest to police brutality. He then began to kneel on the sidelines as it played. He would later be joined by several team mates and other players around the league.

Though some argued that Kaepernick’s passive and silent act of protest didn’t amount to much other than him facing a defacto ban from playing in the league in 2017, Trump’s comments gave Kaepernick’s protest new energy.

Players, team owners and coaches found their own way to send a signal to Trump on his comments. Some locked arms, others took a knee, entire teams did not appear on the field during the playing of the national anthem at the start of the game.

“These are very divisive times for our country,” said Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin.

“For us, as a football team, it’s about us remaining solid. We are not gonna be divided by anything said by anyone. That’s the thing that I posted to our guys. I said, ‘If you feel the need to do anything, I’m going to be supportive of that. As Americans, you have that right.’ But whatever we do, we’re gonna do 100 percent, we’re gonna do together. We’re not gonna let divisive times or divisive individuals affect our agenda,” Tomlin added.

In a particularly noteworthy statement, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a Trump supporter and donor, was critical of the President.

“I am deeply disappointed by the tone of the comments made by the President on Friday,” Kraft said in the statement.

“I am proud to be associated with so many players who make such tremendous contributions in positively impacting our communities. Their efforts, both on and off the field, help bring people together and make our community stronger. There is no greater unifier in this country than sports, and unfortunately, nothing more divisive than politics. I think our political leaders could learn a lot from the lessons of teamwork and the importance of working together toward a common goal. Our players are intelligent, thoughtful and care deeply about our community and I support their right to peacefully affect social change and raise awareness in a manner that they feel is most impactful,” Kraft concluded.

One of the first reactions on Trump’s comments came from the owner of the New York Giants, co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch.

“Comments like we heard last night from the president are inappropriate, offensive and divisive. We are proud of our players, the vast majority of whom use their NFL platform to make a positive difference in our society,” said the Giants owners on September 23.

“Calling #ColinKaepernick “son of a b__tch” in Ala.is racial code in America for “n_gger. JUST SAY IT–to our faces–to America. #TakeaKnee,” tweeted former NAACP President Cornell Brooks on September 23.

“To single out any particular group of players and call them SOBs, to me that’s insulting and disgraceful. I think the players deserve the credit, they should get credit for what they do,” said former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagiabue.

Lauren Victoria Burke is a writer, comms strategist and political analyst. She created Crewof42 in 2009. The blog focuses on African American members of Congress and Black political power regardless of party. Ms. Burke also writes for NBC BLK, The Root, NNPA and is the Managing Editor of Politic365. As part of a diverse career in politics and media, she has also served as a congressional staffer for the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee, Communications Director for U.S. Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) and Director of Communications for Justin Fairfax of Lt. Governor of Virginia. She appears each Monday on weekly on NewsOneNow with Roland Martin on TVOne. Ms. Burke holds a B.A. in History from The American University. Email: LBurke007@gmail.com. Twitter: @LVBurke.

1 COMMENT

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Here’s some more information about this petition:
Recall President Trump
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